When Ryan Mitchell raced his Limited Late Model three weeks ago at East Bay Raceway Park, the idea that he’d be back for the May 6 race was a bit of a stretch. Mitchell’s car was destroyed in a horrifying turn one crash, but that became a distant memory when he parked in Victory Lane Saturday night as the winner of the division’s 15-lapper.
A stout 27-car field took the green for the start of the Limited Late Model chase with Tim Gay battling Ricky Land for early race supremacy. Gay held the advantage in the frontstretch but was never far from sight. A lap five caution for debris tightened the field for the restart and gave Land more to think about as Shane Koperda was running third. Koperda grabbed second on lap 7 as Rich Kessinger was working the outside line to move into the top five. In the late stages, ryan Mitchell and Tommy Evonosky cruised into the elite five. With four laps remaining, Kessinger slipped into second. He and Gay made contact in turn two, resulting in both spinning off the track, handing the lead to Koperda. As the field came down for the white flag lap, Koperda found Mitchell on the inside and Mitchell made his move as Koperda’s car faltered. Mitchell took the lead and held onfor the win, ahead of Evonosky, Koperda, heat winner Timmy Bronson, and Forrest Gough. Koperda and Doug Decker also scored heat wins.
Outlaw 4 Cylinder racing saw heat winner Austin Gillman open up for the lead in the 18-car field. Just outside the top five, heat winner Steve Miller made contact with Pete Grantham sending both to the rear. Up front Gillman faced his first challenges from Brad Boerner, but on a lap five restart, third running Jim Coursen shot to the lead. Boerner bypassed Gillman, but an off-track excursion moved Boerner back to fifth as Travis Varnadore and Eddie Mercer took positions. Gillman lost the handle in the fourth turn, causing drivers to take evasive action and Varnadore retired with mechanical woes. Boerner had crept back into the hunt and provided the opposition for leader Coursen. Cecil Martin came on strong as Boerner dropped out of contention. Mercer tried to make it a three-car rce, but Coursen proved to be the class of the field. Martin held on for second, ahead of Mercer, Miller, and Grantham.
The 25-lap Late model race saw Jack Nosbisch Jr. go wire-to-wire but not without challenge. The best early battles pitted Josh Peacock against point leader Roger Crouse for fourth. Crouse was on a tear, but he had company as Marshall Austin was along for the ride, following Crouse to the front. Crouse challenged Wallace Peacock for the runner-up spot, finally taking it only after Austin had slipped by for a momentum possession of the runnerup spot. Crouse got back around and starting moving to the top of the track, forcing Nosbisch to move up on restarts. Bobby Alexander Sr. used a three-wide pass to secure a spot in the top five that he would never relinquish. Nosbisch and Crouse flirted with lapped traffic until a caution flag settled the field back in the late laps. With one lap to go, K.D. Kelley wrested fourth from Josh Peacock. Nosbisch moved on to the win, ahead of Crouse, Alexander Sr., Kelley, and Josh Peacock. Heat races were won by Nosbisch, Crouse and Jeff Conyers.
A photo finish for the win highlighted the Street Stock finale. Donnie Reed dominated most of the early stages until a wild ride over the backstretch berm was more than the car could handle. Reed’s misfortune came shortly after being passed for the lead by Matthew Grissom and Reed’s disabled car brought the caution with two laps remaining. On the restart, runnerup Steve Burch challenged Grissom, but Paul Gibbs was moving to the top of the track. Gibbs got past Burch on the backstretch and kept digging for the lead. With the checkered in sight, Gibbs pulled alongside Grissom in a drag race to the flag, won by Gibbs by a half carlength. Grissom finished a heartbreaking second with Burch third. Charlie Paris Jr. finished fourth after pitting earlier for a flat tire. Cam Canova rounded out the top five. Heats were victories for Paris Jr., Reed, and Gibbs.
The Open Wheel Modifieds closed the night’s offerings as polesitter Scotty Williams moved into early race command. John Bradley and Jamie Burrows were among the early race movers, but Burrows broke a wheel and spun on lap 4. Trevor Merrill was challenging Williams as Devin Dixon moved into the hunt. Dixon came from third to first and the outside line opened to bring Raymond Rogers along. Dixon’s lead lasted a lap as Rogers vaulted past on lap 7. Bradley moved to third, but David Schmauss took the position by lap 12. Jeff Mathews, who had pitted when one lap was complete and restarted at the tail of the 21-car field, had moved to fourth. As the field approached the white flag, Dixon and Rogers were side-by-side but a spin brought the caution and a nose-to-tail restart. Rogers prevailed for the win ahead of Dixon and Schmauss. Bradley recaptured fourth in front of Mathews. Heat race winners were Mathews, Rogers and Matt Miller
Racing action returns to East Bay Raceway Park Saturday with the winged 360 and Limited Sprints, along with Street Stocks, Outlaw 4s, and 4 Cylinder Bombers. Complete information is available at www.eastbayracewaypark.com.
